HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE DC TOPA LAW?

Are you a landlord who owns a DC rental property? Is your tenant giving you problems? Are you trying to evict the tenant, rehab the house, move back in to live there yourself or sell your property?

There are a variety of scenarios where a DC tenant can either purchase the property they rent, or request better conditions or other consideration in exchange for waiving their rights. Any time a DC landlord puts a property on the market with a tenant in it, or wants to complete substantial rehabilitation, or pursue a variety of other actions, the DC landlord has to provide an “Offer of Sale” form, which includes a right for the tenant to buy the house, and a Right of First Refusal to match purchase offers from third parties. To determine the extent of your rights and the rights of the tenant, you should consult with a reputable DC TOPA attorney or consultant before you do anything else.

The District has enacted a statute called “TOPA” that gives certain rights to tenants to purchase the property they rent or leverage their own negotiating position to secure other benefits. It is very important to know the in’s and out’s of the law, as there are a number of convoluted and abstruse provisions in the statute that have firm deadlines and procedures. Hiring a DC TOPA attorney or representative is essential if you want to navigate these provisions – whether it be converting a property to a condo regime, or rehabbing and/or selling the property or evicting the tenant with a minimum of trouble and heartache, or anything in between.